Update on IHG Rewards & 80k Links
I wrote a few weeks ago about a possible Chase hotel card churning strategy. One of the cards mentioned in that post was the IHG Rewards Mastercard and its “zombie” link offering 80,000 bonus points instead of the normal public offer of 60,000.
According to View from the Wing, Chase has released a new public offer through their affiliates giving 70,000 bonus points after $1,000 in spending during the first three months. This new offer has had a terrible side effect though.
And the Zombies Are Dead
It seems the release of this 70,000 point offer has led to the death of the 80,000 point links. I am not sure if Chase did this on purpose or just killed all extraneous links when coming out with this offer. Either way, all 80k links appear to be dead at this point.
Flyertalk has long been the go-to source for the zombie links for this card, so I suppose if a new one is found it will make its way there. Of course, the current link on Flyertalk and another one posted in the comments of a recent post on this card are dead for now.
Is The Card Worth It
Gary at View from the Wing mentions that he doesn’t think the IHG Rewards Club Mastercard is a great product. While it is true that Chase has a number of better cards, this card has a pretty good value proposition. While high-end properties in the program are often overpriced, they have a number of properties that go for 10,000-20,000 points, not to mention the Point Breaks 5,000 point properties.
Remember that the IHG Rewards Club Mastercard also gives top-tier Platinum status (which isn’t much, but is better recognized outside of the U.S.) and it also provides a 10% rebate on redeemed points. Of course the best part of it is that for the $49 annual fee, you get a free night in any IHG property in the world. (Don’t forget the churning strategy.) I recently redeemed mine for a beautiful $700 a night room at the Intercontinental Hong Kong.
Conclusion
As of right now it seems that the best offer for this card is the 70,000 point affiliate link. We have seen these zombie links die and reappear in the past, so I personally would hold off at least a few days to see if someone else is able to find one.
If you find a working 80,000 point link please share it in the comments. While we are on the subject, do you have this card? Do you like it? Let me know!
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the old king of travel rewards cards. Right now
bonus_miles_full
Learn more about this card and its features!
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Same as MarkD.. I got an 80k targeted link emailed to me just a couple hours ago. So it’s not dead, just maybe a little less public.
Thanks Jenny. I think there are still targeted versions, but any public 80k links seem to be gone for now.
I got an 80K targeted link in my e-mail this morning… I’m not sure if I can generalize it for posting though.
My Wife receives offers for 80K every few weeks. She received the 80K offer today but I believe it is targeted to her.
I have the card, but I use it sparingly for special bonuses or when we stay @ an IHG property during promos. Just the 1 free night every year is so worth the $49. The points break is awesome. I booked 16 nights last year @ 5K per night and always got upgraded plus 10% return of points. I also like when IHG has the 50% off point sales. The only thing I don’t like is not the card but not being able to use the codes anymore. I’m going to miss both of us getting 30K – 40K points for staying one night. Overall, the card is a winner IMO.